Home for the Aged -- destroying family values or taking care of them?

In the Philippines, Filipinos are known for being close-knit families wherein all of the members of the family, from grandparents to grandchildren, and sometimes even the uncles and aunts, live together under the same roof or neighborhood. This is because they value family relationship and values.
In other countries, especially in America, i believe that if people gets old there, they get sent to the home for the aged even if they have their kids living with them. I really cant get the logic or reason behind this as to why people there would rather put their old parents there and not just in their own house and take care of their parents themselves. I have heard that the home for the aged are relatively nice and the service is complete and that you can be assured that the old people living there are being taken care of properly and accordingly. But, im sure that these old people,especially those who have their own families, would prefer the comfort of their own homes and families rather than live in a place where they dont even know the people there.
What are your views regarding this?

i guess in my opinion depending on what was wrong with my parent or even grandparents if they were sick and needed to be on medication and the family new that he would be safer in the care of nurses and people who are fit for that then i would say that is the best spot for them. that way you knoe they are getting the care they need. write now my grand dad is really sick and cannot live alone so my aunt lives with him but it is really hard because she really can not have a life and this can be really stressful especially when he gets very angry and can get mean. he is also very hard to get to go to a hospital when he is sick. he feels that we are just trying to get rid of him and not help him.